4 Common Problems With Home Insulation

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Available data indicates that 90% of houses in the US are under-insulated. This explains why most people complain about possible problems with their heating equipment when the actual culprit is the house. Moreover, with winter set to arrive in full force on December 21, it is crucial to find out how best to keep warm.

Below are some possible problems that could prevent that.

Poor installation of HVAC system

Sometimes, problematic home insulation lies in the installation and not necessarily the heating equipment. Usually, the signs of the poor installation could be a home that feels too cold during winter and awfully hot in the summer. It could also explain why you continue to pay incredibly high energy bills when you don’t use much.

This means the initial installation done was not up to professional standards. This is why it is not recommended to hire amateur services. Instead, there are more professional establishments such as those on this list of Montgomery County propane companies – which you can trust to directly oversee the correct installation of your home’s heating equipment.

Degradation

If your house has been in existence for several years now, it is expected that the insulation may have degraded or deteriorated over time. However, wear and tear are more alarming when your house is fairly new and couldn’t have degraded over such a short period. If that is your situation, you might be dealing with something more serious than the degradation of your home’s insulation.

It would be better to identify the underlying cause instead of focusing only on the type of deterioration ravaging your home’s insulation material. When you ascertain the cause, the only solution is to change the entire insulation material.

Pest infestation

First and foremost, it is worth noting that warmth attracts pests. Therefore, crevices in your walls, especially your attic, could become fertile ground for infestation. Squirrels, rats, and mice tend to make their nests within warm materials. Therefore, if your insulation type is foam, it becomes even more convenient for these rodents to make it their home and bathroom spot. Before changing the insulation, the logical step will be to first deal with the pest situation. This will require pest control.

When that hurdle is finally cleared, you can begin to attend to changing the insulation material if you can afford it. Sometimes, though, after dealing with the pest infestation, all you need is thorough cleaning and disinfection of the space. Admittedly, this is a useful option only if the pests did not cause extensive damage to your insulation material which may require replacement.

Water damage

Wet home insulation can never be a good sign as it ruins insulation power and materials. Even worse, wet insulation takes a significant toll on heat conduction for the home. Moreover, because water is a conductor of electricity, it can cause drastic heating of insulation materials. In severe scenarios, it can lead to rusty metals and mildew within the insulation space. Without a doubt, this can be pretty expensive to resolve if you do not have the finances for it.

It is always a good idea to have professionals check out your home’s insulation before things get out of hand.